Letter.



W. H. BOGK.

LETTER APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, 191s.

1,085,530. Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 2. F 1g 4 I Tl WITN88E8 I INVENTOR ATTORNEYS UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER H. BOOK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A SSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO VICTORBOOK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LETTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

Application filed larch 10, 1913. Serial No. 753,192.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER H. BUCK,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York,Corona, borough of Queens, in the county of Queens and State of NewYork, have invepted a new and Im roved Letter, of which the following isa ull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in signs, and particularly tosigns or letters having translucent portions, and has for an object toprovide an improved structure which is adapted to be clearly seen eitherday or night."

Another object in view is to provide an improved letter with anapertured base or background structure arranged in the form of a letteror configuration designed to be presented, and a translucent coveringfor the apertured portion of the design and conforming to thearrangement of the apertures so that during the day the translucentcovzering will be seen, and. during the night the outline of apertures,a lamp or suitable light to be placed in back thereof. 4

A still further object of the invention is to provide a letter or signstructure formed with an outline of translucegtmaterial but colored to acertain extent so 'as to hide from view anytl'l'ing placed in backthereof when viewed from a distance, and a background or base placedback ,of the translucent portion of the letter or configuration formedwith apertures conforming to the desired letter, whereby the letter orconfiguration may be seen during the day, and may be seen during thenight after a light has been placed in back thereof.

In carrying out the objects of the invention, the letter is adapted tobe placed upon a transparent support, as for instance a glass window,and secured by any desired means, as for instance a suitable adhesive.In forming the letter a base is provided of the shape of letterdesiredand pressed until there is a depressed portion forming the letter.Arranged in this depressed portion are a plurality of aperturesfollowing the de pression so that when a light is placed in back thereofthe same willshine through the apertures and give the correct outline ofthe letter. A translucent substance, as for instance colored celluloid,is placed in the depressed portion and then the entire letter, includingthe celluloid filling, is secured to the glass support by an adhesive.In order to properly finish the letter a border is painted around theletter of a different color from the base or the celluloid filling.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings forminga part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure 1 is -a front View of a letter as the same appears at night; Fig.2 is a view similar to-Fig. 1 except that the same shows the letter asitappears during the day; Fig. 3 is a rear view of the letter shown inFigs. 1 and 2, part of the base being raised for better illustrating theconstruction; Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the glass support andparts of the letter separated; and

F ig. 5 is asection through Fig. 3 approximately on the line 5-5, thesame. being shown on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numerals, 1 indicates a glasssupport of any kind, as for instance the glass in show windows.Connected to glass 1 is a base 2 formed of any desired material, as forinstance metal of a shape of the letter desired. It-will be understoodthat other configurations besides letters could be formed withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and that the expressionletter will includesuch other configurations. The base '2 is providedwith a depression or pressed out portion 3 which conforms to the shapeof the letter and in which is arranged a plurality of apertures 4 sothat when a light is placed in back of the base 2 the outline of theletter will be seen through apertures 4. The base 2 may be formed fromsome bright material, as for instance tin-foil, gold, or other metal.\Vhen formed in this manner, an adhesive layer 5 is placed around theedge whereby means are provided for securing the base 2 t0 the glass 1,and also a border 6 is provided which clearly shows up in Figs. 1, 2,and 4. In applying the adhesive 5, the same is preferably colored so asto form a contrast with the border 6 and also with the translucent form7. The form 7 may be colored to any desired extent provided the same isnot made opaque. The form 7 is adapted to fit into the depression 3, andin order to hold the same properly in place, an adhesive la er 8 isapplied to the depression 3. ThlS adhesive layer is formed ofsubstantially the same color as the coloring matter in the form 7, sothat the color of the translucent form 7 is deepened in order to givethe form an opaque appearance, or if the form 7 is perfectly clear, thecolorin matter will act as a background therefor, t ough ordinarily theform 7 is provided with a sufiici'ent color to prevent an observer fromseeing the out more clearly the letter.

apertures 4 during the day in order that the letter will appear as aclear plain letter as disclosed in Fig. 2. After the form 7 and" base 2have been assembled, they are applied to the glass 1 and then a border 9of any" suitable paint is applied so as to set Also the border 9 isadapted to hide any irregularities in the periphery of the base 2, asthe border can be made perfectly straight notwithstanding irregularitiesof the form. It will be noted that the adhesive 5 and the border 9 areof the same color so as to form a continuous border line as shown -inFigs. 1 and 2.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent i A letter of the character described consisting of ametal base forming the outline of. a letter, said: base having adepressed portion conforming to the letter and a radiating flange allaround the depressed portion, said depressed portion being provided witha plurality of apertures, a translucent form mounted in said depressedportion and substantially filling the same, a coloring matter arrangedin'said depressed portion between said form and said metallic base, saidcoloring matter being substantially of the same color as the translucentform, whereby the color of the translucent form is deepened in order togive thewsa'me an opaque appearance, anda layer of adhesive matterarranged around the radiating flange on said base for securing the baseto a support.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two'subscribing witnesses.

WALTER H. BOOK.

Witnesses:

MARY R. TUOHY, MARGARET DE S. COPPELL.

